Vinod Rai

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Reforms suggested by Vinod Rai

Vinod Rai recommended that all private-public partnerships (PPPs), "Panchayti Raj Institutions" and societies benefiting from government funds should come within the ambit of the CAG. The PPP model is a popular medium for the execution of infrastructure projects worth millions of rupees, and these projects are not audited by the CAG. 60 percent of government spending does not currently come under the scrutiny of the CAG. [18]

Major audits

2G Spectrum allocation

He is widely credited for the report on issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G Spectrum by United Progressive Alliance government which resulted in a huge controversy in India. The report estimated that there was a presumptive loss of ₹1,766.45 billion (US$21 billion). [19] In a chargesheet filed on 2 April 2011 by the investigating agency Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the agency pegged the loss at ₹309,845.5 million (US$3.7 billion) [20]

On 2 February 2012 the Supreme Court of India on a public interest litigation (PIL) declared allotment of spectrum as "unconstitutional and arbitrary" and quashed all the 122 licenses issued in 2008 during tenure of A. Raja (then minister for communications & IT in United Progressive Alliance) the main accused. [21] The court further said that A. Raja "wanted to favour some companies at the cost of the public exchequer" and "virtually gifted away important national asset". [22]

However, the Presumptive Revenue loss calculation has never been established and has at best remained a conjecture. On 3 August 2012 when according to the directions of the Supreme Court, the Government of India revised the spectrum price to Rs 140 billion as reserve price for 2G spectrum and decided to sell airwaves in Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka and Rajasthan for 1800 MHz band, and pan India for the 800 MHz band the response was poor, to say the least. The Government then announced that it would auction the unsold spectrum in the 1800 MHz band from the 2012 spectrum auction, immediately after the first round, which began on 11 March, got over to comply with a Supreme Court order. The government also reduced the reserve price for 1800 MHz by 30% and for 800 MHz by 50% from the 2012 spectrum auction. Response to the 2013 spectrum auction was also very poor. While there were no bidders for spectrum in 1800 MHz and 900 MHz bands, MTS India was the only bidder for airwaves in 800 MHz band. Airtel and Idea were reluctant to participate in the spectrum auction for due to steep pricing of the auction.[ citation needed ]

The main criticism to the report now emerging is that the CAG exceeded its constitutional mandate as it attempted in a sense to change the policy of the Government of India which at that point was to promote telecom growth and not revenue maximisation by arguing that spectrum could only be sold by auction and creating figures for Presumtive losses around it. However, the Honble Supreme Court Of India in the Presidential Reference (2012) has upheld the right of the Government to frame policy and said "The norm of 'common good' has to be understood and appreciated in a holistic manner. The manner in which the common good is best subserved is not a matter that can be measured by any constitutional yardstick — it depends on the economic and political philosophy of the government. Revenue maximization is not the only way in which the common good can be subserved. Where revenue maximization is the object of a policy, being considered qua that resource at that point of time to be the best way to subserve the common good, auction would be one of the preferable methods, though not the only method. Where revenue maximization is not the object of a policy of distribution, the question of auction would not arise. Revenue considerations may assume secondary consideration to developmental considerations."[ citation needed ] A.Raja is set free by CBI trial court and CBI went for review petition in Delhi High court, case is under trial now.[ citation needed ]

In 2014, Rai named Sanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs who pressured him to leave former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh out of the report. Nirupam filed a defamation case against Rai in the Metropolitan Court in New Delhi’s Patiala house. In October 2021, he tendered unconditional apology to Mr. Sanjay Nirupam for the false accusations. [23] In a written affidavit Rai said: “That I have realised that in answer to questions posed to me by the interviewers, I had inadvertently and wrongly mentioned the name of Sanjay Nirupam as one of the MPs who pressurised me to keep the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s name out of the CAG report on 2G spectrum allocation during the meetings in the PAC or the sidelines of JPC.” [24]

CoalGate (coal mines allocation)

Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Audit

Based on the recommendations by amicus curiae-senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam who was investigating the issues of financial irregularities and mismanagement in the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order on 24 April 2014 stating that Mr Vinod Rai will supervise special audit of property of temple. Rai responded by saying that he felt "very humbled" and said "With all sincerity I will take up the task".

Confrontation with Governments

As a part of his duty, Rai has many a times raised questions on faulty policy making of several state governments and Union government run by Congress led United Progressive Alliance and BJP led Governments in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. CAG criticised the government of Goa for forest policy delay. [25]

There are certain times when ministers of ruling Congress coalition government criticised CAG. Minister of state in PMO, V. Narayanasamy said "CAG has no authority or right to comment on the policy of the government but unfortunately it has questioned its authority, which is totally unwarranted and against the mandate given to them". [26] However CAG Vinod Rai defended his position by stating at an Economic Editor's Conference in 2011 "I am making it clear that I do not think the CAG is exceeding its jurisdiction, because the basic responsibility of the CAG is to identify if there is any lapse," and challenged the government to identify the specific breach of mandate. [27]

Controversies

2G scam falsehood

On 21 December 2017, a Special CBI Court acquitted all the persons accused in the 2G scam, a case set in motion by Vinod Rai. The Special Judge OP Saini stated in his judgement: "There is no evidence on the record produced before the Court indicating any criminality in the acts allegedly committed by the accused persons.” He added that “the chargesheet of the instant case is based mainly on misreading, selective reading, non-reading and out of context reading of the official record” and that "the chargesheet is based on some oral statements made by the witnesses during investigation, which the witnesses have not owned up in the witness box.” [28]

Indian National Congress Allegations

In October 2021, after Vinod Rai unconditionally apologized to Sanjay Nirupam, the Indian National Congress's leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary said, "Vinod Rai the former CAG has proved himself as a stooge of BJP, who was entrusted upon playing a sinister design to tarnish the image of UPA Government by his quixotic, wilful and deliberate observations in the CAG paras. He should be punished for his dereliction of duties". [29] Then Congress's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot accused, "Vinod Rai's false claims on 2G spectrum, Coal scam led to UPA's defeat". [30] Congress's Pawan Khera accused that, "Imagine a man who can lie to sell a book, what all can he do to push his own agenda and the agenda of his masters." [31]

Published book

He wrote Not Just an Accountant: The Diary of the Nations Conscience Keeper, which speaks about how the political system was exploited to violate laws in 2G spectrum case, Krishna-Godavari gas basin contract, Commonwealth Games scam, Indian coal allocation scam and the controversial purchase of aircraft. [32]

Awards and recognition

Vinod Rai
Vinod Rai at the World Economic Forum on India 2012.jpg
Rai at the World Economic Forum on India 2012
Chairman of Banks Board Bureau
In office
30 January 2017 (2017-01-30) –31 March 2018 (2018-03-31)
YearNameAwarding organisationRef.
2012Alumnus of the DecadeOld Students Association, Hindu College, University of Delhi [33]
2013Civil Servant achieving Excellence in Public AdministrationMannapuram Finance Limited
2013Outstanding contribution to the Indian economyCNBC TV18
2016 Padma Bhushan (Civil Service) [34] Government of India

He figured as one of the Persons of the Year in Forbes magazine in January 2011. [35]

In December 2011, he was chosen as the chief of UN external audit panel. [36] [37]

In February 2012, CAG was complimented for professionalism, training and infrastructure by its US counterpart. [38]

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References

  1. ↑ "Mr. Vinod Rai". Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Vinod Rai appointed CAG". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  3. ↑ "2G spectrum verdict: no proof of scam, says Court. A scam of lies, says Congress". Times of India.
  4. ↑ "Supreme Court appoints former CAG Vinod Rai to head BCCI". The Times of India. Times News Network (TNN). 30 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017.
  5. ↑ Gollapudi, Nagraj (30 January 2017). "Supreme Court names administrators to supervise BCCI". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 30 January 2017.
  6. ↑ Chowdhury, Sonya Dutta (29 November 2014). "The nation needs to know". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  7. ↑ Malik, Aman (2 April 2013). "Vinod Rai: Auditor or crusader?". Mint . Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Democracy at Crossroads, Debunk Silent Majority: CAG". Outlook India. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "CAG Vinod Rai at Harvard Alumni Meet". Hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  10. 1 2 "Officials recount Thrissur stories". Thehindubusinessline.in. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Vinod Rai appointed as CAG". Business Line . 18 December 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  12. ↑ "CAG of India Sh. VInod rai".
  13. ↑ "Vinod Rai appointed Chairman of Banks Board Bureau". The Hindu. Business Line. 28 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Govt moves to fix PSU banks, ex-CAG Vinod Rai to head Bureau". The Indian Express. 29 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Big-Ticket Corruption Scandals a Thing of Past: Former CAG Vinod Rai".
  16. 1 2 3 4 Press Trust of India (12 December 2012). "Vinod Rai re-elected as Chair of UN auditors panel". Business Line . Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "CAG of India Sh. Vinod rai".
  18. ↑ Rao, Prahlad (21 May 2013). "After shaking and hurting the govt he is retiring". News Oneindia. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  19. ↑ "Performance Audit Report on the Issue of Licences and Allocation of 2G Spectrum" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  20. ↑ "2G loss? Govt gained over Rs 3,000cr: Trai". The Times of India . 7 September 2011. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011.
  21. ↑ "SC quashes 122 licences". The Times of India . 2 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013.
  22. ↑ "2G verdict: A Raja 'virtually gifted away important national asset', says Supreme Court". The Times of India. 2 February 2012.
  23. ↑ Banerjee, Shoumojit (28 October 2021). "Ex-CAG Vinod Rai apologises to Sanjay Nirupam over charges in 2G spectrum case". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  24. ↑ Service, Tribune News. "Former CAG Vinod Rai apologises to Cong's Sanjay Nirupam". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  25. ↑ "Comptroller and auditor general of India slams govt for forest policy delay". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 14 December 2013.
  26. ↑ "CAG overstepping its constitutional mandate: Govt". 18 August 2012.
  27. ↑ Singh, Shalini (22 August 2012). "CAG challenges government to identify specific breach of constitutional mandate". The Hindu.
  28. ↑ "2G case verdict: CBI court acquits A Raja, Kanimozhi and all other accused". The Indian Express. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  29. ↑ Correspondent, Special (29 October 2021). "Congress steps up attack against former CAG Vinod Rai". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  30. ↑ "Vinod Rai's false claims on 2G spectrum, coal scam led to UPA's defeat: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot". The Times of India. 6 February 2022. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  31. ↑ "Ex-CAG Vinod Rai should apologise to nation for conspiring to destabilise UPA govt: Congress". The Economic Times. 29 October 2021. ISSN   0013-0389 . Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  32. ↑ Bhattacharya, A. K. (24 September 2014). "Not just an accountant's angst". Business Standard India. Business standard. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  33. ↑ "Democracy at Crossroads, Debunk Silent Majority: CAG". Outlook . Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  34. ↑ "Padma awards 2016 declared: Anupam Kher, Rajinikanth, Vinod Rai, Sania Mirza honoured among others | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  35. ↑ Narayanan, Dinesh (7 January 2011). "A Person of the Year: Vinod Rai". Forbes.
  36. ↑ "CAG Vinod Rai elected U.N. external audit panel chief". 8 December 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  37. ↑ "CAG Vinod Rai to head UN audit panel". 9 December 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
  38. ↑ "CAG receives pat from US counterpart". 27 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
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